San Diego County, San Diego Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Is a UV blacklight still useful, exterior-wise, if it rains after the rodents leave their urine stains? I am in the process of performing exterior maintenance to better exclude my roof rats. 1) I have a 25 year old cedar shake roof in San Diego California with openings under each shake along the rake edge of the roof at the gable ends of my house. There's no drip edge, i.e. under the shakes I have roofing paper (now somewhat curled) that runs more or less up to and rests right atop the fascia board. Because I have skip sheathing, and since the cross section of a shake is a wedge that is up to one inch at the upper, thick end, this appears to create many huge entry points along the rake edges even though the sheathing is rabbeted into the fascia board. As a result, I'm thinking of getting a UV blacklight to use outside the house to sleuth for urine stains along the upper edge of the gable end shakes and fascia boards. My question is, how easily does the winter rain wash away the urine, rendering this a pointless exercise? 2) I noticed a new product called "rat-out gel" and was thinking of applying it along the rake edges mentioned above. Or, maybe I should just buy many rolls of X-Clude and use that instead. Or maybe both. Any comment? Thanks very much for your website, Doug
My response: First off, I do not have experience using UV lights to detect rat urine. But I do suspect that rain will severely limit the effectiveness of this approach. I have never heard of Rat-Out Gel or XClude, but I typically stick to physical barriers rather than repellent type devices. If your roof makes this impossible, you might have a tough time keeping the rats out.
San Diego Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Can I Get A Rat Out Of My Car?
Clean Up Your Car:
When a rat no longer has access to the food inside your car it will no longer have a good place to nest, sleep, or find food. Rats always nest close by to where their food source is and if you have a large amount of garbage in your car or items that can be fed upon, they're much more likely to stick around.
Trim Back Foliage From Your Car:
When you notice branches that overhang your car it's possible that you can have problems with a number of uninvited guests. Trimming back the items around your car can be a crucial way that you can prevent pests like rats from having a direct line to get into the vehicle.
Close Up Your Car:
Make sure that you are closing up your car. If you have a window that is open, a sunroof that opens, or a door that doesn't quite close, a rat can make their way in quite quickly and easily. A rat only needs around half an inch to get into a space and even though it may not seem like there is that much room, a rat can make it into the area easily.
Remove Moisture And Damp Clothing From Your Vehicle:
If you have paper, damp clothing, or other items across your vehicle, they need to be removed quickly. Damp clothing can be an ongoing problem when it comes to attracting rats and keeping them in your car.
Set Down Some Traps:
A quick set trap that you place in your car in the evening or a metal pedal trap can be a great way to manage a rat problem in your car. Making sure that you can trap the rat in your vehicle can be crucial to building a better method of keeping rats out of your vehicle.
